"Nope, go Magikarp!"

"It's go fish, Y/N." Deuce responds with an amused smile.

"My cards, I'm allowed to say go Mahikarp." You argue back, your brow furrowing a bit.

"...eh, fair enough." The blue-haired boy shrugs, and Grim grumbles and draws another card.

"Myah? Dang it! Why am I so bad at this?" The cat-monster huffs. Ogerpon tries to peek over to see what's annoying Grim so much, but the cat-monster's ears pin down and he pulls his cards away. "Ay! No peekin'!"

"Poni, remember you aren't allowed to look at other people's cards." You remind the Pokémon. She squeaks and nods, looking back at her own cards.

"Okay, my turn now..." You look over at Ace. "You got a queen?"

Ace groans and hands you the card. "How are you so good at this?"

"It's my favorite game." You say with a smile as you match your two cards and set them down. "Okay, that's a wrap everyone! I have... thirteen pairs!"

No one else's counts even come close to yours. Grim huffs and crosses his arms. "Myah, no fair..."

You smile at the annoyed cat-monster. "Hey, great progress for someone who's never played Go Magikarp before and only previously knew how to play Old Maid."

That makes Grim sit up a bit more, before huffing and stands up on the table as Ace snickers. "Come on, furball. Don't take it like sore loser."

"Ace, be nice." You tell the boy as you stand up, stretching your arms above your head. "Mmrgh... I'm gonna go get a breath of fresh air real quick, don't wait up with getting ready for bed."

You don't give anyone a chance to respond before walking out of the foyer and onto the porch outside. Ogerpon stands up to follow you, but Moonstone raises a paw and stops her before scampering after you.

Everyone else sits their in awkward silence for a moment before Ace says a jab at Deuce and the boy immediately responds in turn. Grim watches them in annoyance for a moment before going out after you.

"Myah!" Grim huffs out as he closes the front door behind him. "Human, why'd you just leave- oh..."

The cat-monster's ears flick down as he sees you sitting on the porch, knees pulled to your chest as you hug Moonstone and quietly sob.

"...human?" Grim asks, creeping towards you to sit next to you.

"I-" You sniffle. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this. I- I just can't-"

You sob again, cutting yourself off. Grim feels genuine concern for you, having not seen you break down like this since the Mine. "...human, are you okay?"

"No..." You admit, trying to stifle a sob. "Do you think anyone hears this? I can't let anyone else see me like this, for the failure I am-"

"BREE!" Moonstone angrily calls out, cutting you off. You immediately understand the meaning behind it. 'You are not a failure.'

"I- why am I so weak?" You ask, wiping hot tears streaming down your face with a hand. "Maybe if I was stronger, I wouldn't be here. I don't want to be here, I don't want to be here, I want to go home!"

You hiccup a bit as Grim's ears droop down. "I- I miss my friends. I miss my mom. I miss going to Pomelo Academy- I miss the Pokémon I released! You hear me Arceus, I've already learned my lesson awhile ago! I regret my choices! Let me go home!"

There's no response from the dark night before you. You sob again and bury your face into Moonstone's side. The Umbreon calmly sighs and nuzzles into your neck to comfort you.

Grim hesitates, unsure how to comfort you, before tugging on your arm. "Human... these bad thoughts ain't good for ya! We need a change of conversation! Uh- you promised to tell me about the "Mudball" thing, remember-"

Grim pauses at another sob that wracks from you. "Bad topic? Nevermind. How about I tell you about the time I managed to smuggle twenty cans of tuna out of a shop? It all started when-"

"No, Grim." You respond, lifting your head from Moonstone as her fur where your head was is now slightly damp. "I promised I tell you, and just because I can't keep a hold of my emotions every second of the day doesn't mean I'm breaking it."

You take a few shaky breaths, feeling your chest tight from nerves and stress. "Why is everything so hard? I got here roughly three days ago. First I got lit on fire and forced to stay in a dorm about to fall over with one strong gust of wind, then I nearly lost the dorm and was forced to fight for my life against some weird monster-thing, and now I'm forced to try to fix another persons mess because he struggles to apologize!"

You keep your rant going. "I'm in a world were no one else knows what a Pokémon is. I don't want any attention on me! I always get attention directed at me whenever I go anywhere! I just want to be left alone with my Pokémon! I-"

You shake your head, feeling anger cloud your senses for a moment. The anger, however, is directed at yourself. "I never should've become a Pokémon champion! I was happy just being a trainer! Accepting the invitation to Pomelo Academy was a mistake!"

"Bree." At the Umbreon's annoyed tone, you take another breath to calm down.

"Sorry, sorry... You're right. It wasn't a mistake. Pomelo Academy's been the happiest I ever been..." You sigh and bring Grim into your arms as well. "I just... being brought to another world suddenly is hard, okay? I just want to go back to my friends and family, because no matter how much I despised how many people wanted to talk to me and battle me... I was happy..."

You sigh and look at Grim. "I'll admit this, pequeño gato de fuego. I am absolute garbage at being open about my emotions to everyone. I feel like I have to act a certain way to everyone I first meet and make them like me. And you what they say about first impressions..."

You shake your head. "You want to hear about some of my biggest mistakes? It'll be the first step I take to opening up about myself, at least to you."

Grim stares at you with wide eyes, taking in what you just said, as Moonstone moves to lay down next to you and let you stroke her back to soothe yourself. You look out at the darkness beyond the dorm, the only bits of light being the lights from the foyer inside, Moonstone's rings, Grim's fire, and the little bits of green light dancing among the yard.

"Please don't tell anyone else about this though..." You ask, relaxing as both cat-monster and Pokémon nod.

You take a breath, tears no longer dripping down your face but still in your eyes. "I'm a Pokémon champion. I decided to help my biology professor, Professor Jacq, complete the Pokédex in several areas. This meant I've spent time with a ton of Pokémon..."

You sigh and continue. "Though, afterwards, I realized I just had... too many Pokémon. I couldn't spend enough time with all of them... so I let most of them go. I only kept the one's you've seen, Grim. My usual team and the legendaries I caught, because it wouldn't be a good idea to release them. Didn't stop me from making seven horrible, terrible mistakes."

Grim tilts his head. "What'd you mean by that?"

You look away into the darkness, pausing for just a moment as you stare at the dancing green lights above the field. You want to know what they are, but now's not the time. "...I released seven Pokémon very dear to me. I wouldn't blame them if they hated me..."

Moonstone gives you a look, and you continue and stop with the belittling comments towards yourself for the time being. "Mudball, my Clodsire; Pippins, my Empoleon; Green Onion, or just Onion, my Breloom; Squeakers, my Noivern; Oreo, my Oricorio; Reego, my Poryon-Z; and Glimmer, my Gardevoir..."

Grim tilts his head the other way. "Tell me about them! I- uh... please."

"Well... Mudball was the third Pokémon I ever caught. It was my first day on the treasure hunt, and I met this little Wooper... I thought he was just adorable and completely fawned over him, to be honest, and he loved the attention. Then I caught him, and I did everything I could to keep giving him attention... he was amazing during Iono's gym... but then I realized I just... wasn't loving him enough, and let him go to find someone who could whenever he needed it..."

You shake your head, trying to clear the tears from your eyes, and continue. "Pippins was the most head-strong Pokémon I met. Literally. I took five steps into Polar Biome and she tackled me in the stomach. After that, I knew we were destined to be partners. So, after a bit, I caught her... then I realized she was just wanted to make her group proud and protect them... so I let her go to do that. But the look of pain she gave me as I walked away..."

You turn your head away, and Moonstone places a paw on your arm. "Thank you, Moony, but I can keep going... Onion was... definitely something, I will say. Very brash, yet open about his feelings. I met him at South Providence, Area Three. I was just making a sandwich for Koraidon and Miraidon, then the little bastard popped out of nowhere and snatched it. It led to wild Yangoose chase, and ended with me catching him. He always wanted people to be their best selves, and I realized I was just holding him back and set him free... he didn't want to leave though, that much was obvious."

"Squeakers was... very loud." You say with a faint smile. "He always struggled to fly when he was a Noibat, but I never stopped encouraging him. Eventually, he finally learned as he evolved into Noivern. It was... beautiful, if I admit. Seeing someone you nutured bloom into their best selves. Though, I knew if he stayed with me he'd just clip his wings. He wanted freedom, to taste the sky... something I couldn't offer. So I set him free, like he deserves. He cried, as he flew off..."

You sag down a bit but don't stop. "Oreo was... gutsy. But always upbeat and turned any situation cheerful with her dancing. It was admirable how optimistic she always tried to be. She even helped me learn how to dance, heh... though, I felt like I was just crushing her optimism and keeping her from being able to help everyone she can. So I let her go. Though I still keep the nectars that allowed her to change form..."

You rub the back of your head. "Reego... they were a silly little fella, despite the fact their original trainer was an abusive piece of shit, but Reego kept upbeat. They could get into any digital surface and bypass any form of security, which was concerning. But they were never malicious, they just wanted to help keep hackers out of Blueberry's Academy security. They wanted to help the Academy, but didn't want to leave me... They couldn't make a choice, so I made it for them... I let them stay, but considering how often Toto gets pinged with pictures from Blueberry Academy, I think Reego still misses me..."

You smile slightly, before shaking your head. "And Glimmer... she was special. I mean literally, she was a rare form of Pokémon known as a "shiny". It's just a normal Pokémon, except different colors. I caught her in Kitakami, and she was very protective of me. It got to the point where I thought I was a toxic influence on her, so we parted ways. I- I miss her. She was a very patient and understanding Pokémon, who'd help me do what I needed to do... and... ugh... I'm just a terrible Pokémon trainer and a failure, aren't I?"

Grim huffs and grabs your face with his paws. "Myah! Look at me, human! Quit it with the belittlin' talk! You are an amazing and oddly kind person, and I'll be honest that I think you're the only tolerable human out there!"

You blink in surprise as Grim continues. "So you made some mistakes, so what? You obviously regret 'em and are trying to be better! You don't need to pretend to be someone you're not just to make people like you! Just start bein' yourself!"

You blink again as tears of joy fill your eyes. "Grim... you are an absolute sweetheart and I'm glad I met you."

You sniffle a bit and hug the cat-monster, who hugs you back. Moonstone nods slightly at the fact Grim managed to get you out of your depression hole and joins in on the hug.

You guys sit there, all hugging eachother, before you let out a shaky breath. "Thank you, you two. You two are absolute sweethearts and I'm glad to have met you... we probably should go back in and relax..."

You blink blearily as you yawn, setting Moonstone and Grim down. They both nod in agreement and you three go back into the dorm.

None of you notice the figure standing off on the edge of the dorm's property, having silently watched and listened to the whole thing.

They stare at you as you walk back into the dorm, before turning away and disappearing into the darkness, the green lights disappearing into nothing as they leave.

---

"Okay guys, sorry about that. We're back though-" You can't resist giggling when you walk in and see Deuce absolutely babying Ogerpon as Ace facepalms on the couch.

"Heh, I see you guys are getting along." You tilt your head, amused. "And none of you guys got ready for bed..."

"I brushed my teeth!" Deuce argues back, looking embarrassed. "For two whole minutes! That's getting ready!"

You roll your eyes. "Mhm. I see... I'm going to go shower real quick. You guys are welcome too as well, though- as a warning- the water's absolutely freezing."

You wink at the two and go off to go shower. It doesn't take long for Ace and Deuce to start arguing about who showers next, and Grim looks like he would rather die than get wet.

--------

You group now sit around the table after getying changed and ready for bed, playing Old Maid because Grim demanded playing a game he actually knew how too. You sit between Ace and Deuce on the couch, and Grim groans from where he sits on the table and throws his cards down on the table.

"Man, how come I lost every time?" Grim huffs out with crossed arms.

Ace snickers. "Supports my claim. Sore loser."

Deuce laughs alongside Ace, amused. You roll your eyes at the two and give them a look of 'come on, be nice you two'. Grim huffs and stands up. Ogerpon and Moonstone went to go to sleep in your room, and now you four are just playing Old Maid and having a good time. At least you are.

"I ain't takin' any of this!" Grim hops off the table and marches towards the stairs, pausing in the doorway and looks back at you. "Y/N? Are ya comin'."

You shake your head. "Not yet. I'd like to stay here a few more minutes."

Deuce and Ace mentally pump their fists at this, and Grim shrugs. "Myah, okay. You're always welcome to go to the room if you get tired of dealin' with these two idiots."

"Yeah, that's cool for inviting Y/N to her own dorm room." Deuce comments with an amused expression. Grim ignores him as he scampers off.

You shake your head. "Come on, be nice you two. I'm all for a bit of teasing, but try teasing Grim less. Me, however..."

Ace chuckles. "Eh, if you want to be teased... ask, and you shall receive."

"What does that-" You don't get a chance to finish your question before Ace starts tickling you. "H- huh? Ha! I- cut it out!"

You giggle uncontrollably as Ace grins. "Hey, I thought you wanted to be teased?"

"N- not like- ha- this!" You retort. "Deuce, help!"

"Yeah Deuce, help!" Ace says with a grin. "Help me tickle Y/N!"

"Wait, no! Don't do th- that!"

Deuce watches with wide eyes, before snapping back to his senses and looking embarrassed. "I- uh-"

"C'mon Loosey-Deucey!" Ace looks a tad bit annoyed now, but that doesn't stop him from essentially torturing you with tickles. "Or are you scared to touch a girl?"

"I am not!" Deuce retorts immediately, before giving you a look of 'sorry for this'.

"Wait, no-" You break off into laughter as both of them start tickling you. "Haha! Okay- please stop- I relent! I relent!"

"Do you though?" Ace looks mock-skeptical, but he can't hide the grin on his face right now.

"I do! Stop the torture! I beg of you both!" You laughter goes quiet as both boys stop tickling you. "Haha... that wasn't teasing, that was torture."

"No it wasn't." Ace retorts. "Because if it was torture, we wouldn't have stopped."

"I'm sorry, Y/N-" Deuce starts, but you shrug.

"Oh, I'm not upset. More just... startled you guys would do that." You lean back on the couch, running a hand through your damp hair since this place doesn't have an Arceus-damned hairdryer, but it's not that important so you can wait to buy one later. "We became good friends pretty quickly, didn't we?"

Deuce nods. "Yeah... I've never really been this open to talking and hanging out with people I met three days ago, to be honest."

Ace shrugs. "Eh, yeah. I guess we are."

You smile at this. "Ha... we're all completely different deep down, but through circumstance we all met and became friends. That's neat."

Ace thinks for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so. If I never decided to tease you and the furball, none of us would've become friends."

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Deuce replies. "I mean, we do share our first four classes together. Which is like half our classes. We could've always met in one of them, but I don't think we would've become friends like this."

"Oh, what shared adversity does-" You can't help but yawning. "Mrgh... I'm going to bed... I'm tired and we have school tomorrow, then the Unbirthday party, ugh..."

You feel your eyes grow a bit heavy. "I'm just gonna... tire out here... who needs bed, nrgh..."

Then you pass out cold, your head resting against Deuce's shoulder.

Both boys share a slightly startled look at how quickly your just went to sleep and look at eachother, whisper-yelling at eachother over what the heck they should do.

"Pon?" At that, both boys look over to the doorway, seeing Ogerpon with a blanket wrapped around her walk to you, climb onto your sleeping self, and fall asleep against you. Even unconscious, you gently wrap your arms around her.

Deuce immediately becomes flustered at how adorable you are when asleep, and Ace mentally facepalms because now they really can't move you without disturbing two people. Well, a person and a Pokémon.

They share one more look, before shrugging and just deciding to sleep themselves, even if the lights are on.

"Myah, where are you- oh." Grim pauses in the doorway, originally pacing after Ogerpon to figure out where she was going. He stares at the sight of you, sleeping and hugging Ogerpon, snug between a sleeping Ace and Deuce.

"...ugh." Grim rolls his eyes and scampers back to the room, dragging back another blanket to lay over you four to the best of the cat-monster's ability.

He darts over to the lightswitch and flicks it off with a jump and wave of his paw, pausing in the doorway to look behind him.

"...sleep well, hench-human. You deserve it." He pauses, surprising himself with how kind he's being.

"Myah... she's rubbing off on me. Dammit..." The cat-monster huffs and scampers back to your shared room to go to sleep himself. "At least I get the bed tonight... though I'm sharing it with those giant lizards... eh, still more room for me."